The Registration Banquet

Acrania Empire: Dark Palace (King's Palace)

Kaid stood in front of a lifeless body, the moonlight casting a pale glow over his features, accentuating the sharp lines of his jaw and the icy resolve in his gaze.

A smirk etched at the corner of his lips, his dark, piercing eyes locked onto the lifeless body at his feet, his expression a mask of chilling indifference. Meanwhile, the blood from his sword dripped noisily onto the floor.

Yet Kaid felt nothing. He turned around and faced the other men clothed in black, their faces ghostly pale as he tilted his head to the side eerily. Even though he was drop-dead gorgeous, this was the part of him that made women cry.

"You are a beast! A monster! A demon," one of them, who stood directly in front of Kaid, trembled. His frantic shouting couldn't even get him anywhere.

The sword in his hands vibrated as much as his legs did, and Kaid glanced at him. "Seriously, whoever sent such weaklings here must not know why I called this place the Dark Palace. Do you want to know why?" he breathed out in a dark tone.

The men shook their heads, questioning why they couldn't move. Kaid threw his head back and laughed. His voice sounded like he was cackling, but it was gravelly and calm at the same time.

"Because this palace is always soaked with blood," he declared in a thick and croaky voice. With a wave of his sword, their heads were sliced off. They weren't even given a chance to plead for mercy before their final breath.

"You would have left one alive, Your Majesty." Someone walked in and gave a curt bow even when Kaid wasn't looking at him. The latter brought out a napkin from his breast pocket and wiped the blood off his sword.

Once he was done, he tossed it to the bodies gathered around. "How is she?" Kaid asked as he turned around to face the guy who walked in.

The only thing he cared about right now was the girl who had brown wavy hair and brown glassy eyes—a light that shined in his dark and bloody world. Even as he killed those people, he couldn't help but think about her.

What drama would she cause tomorrow?

"She is still fast asleep, Your Majesty." The other person bowed again, and Kaid chuckled.

"Other noble ladies would have been frantically looking for dresses and trying out fancy jewelry by this time, yet she had the leisure to sleep?" He laughed once again.

The other person, seeing this, furrowed his brows in concern. The last time he had seen Kaid smile and laugh like this was when he was a child, because normally he smiled this way only when faced with his enemies.

The man shivered in fright. "Are you going to attend the Registration Banquet?" he asked, and Kaid nodded.

"But not as the king, though."

*****

Back at the Clariant Empire

"Princess!! We have been looking all over for you!" Lucie cried out in surprise as soon as Meliora showed up at the door with Asharte standing beside her.

"I just went out to stretch my legs and found this beautiful person. She will help me with the dress." Meliora pushed past Lucie in a hurry, and Asharte followed behind her while Lucie gave Asharte a wary glance.

"But Master, you cannot just bring a stranger in. What if they were hired to harm you, like those mercenaries?" Lucie closed the door behind her, worry etched in lines on her face as she crossed her arms while glaring at Asharte.

The latter just stood there, smiling at Lucie while waving her hand. Meliora had already begun stripping, and when Lucie and Asharte noticed this behavior, they screamed.

"Master!"

"Your Esteemed Princess!"

They shouted in unison, and Meliora almost tripped on her chemise if not for the post she held onto for balance. Her heart jerked as she glared at them.

"What?!" She yelled, and they both facepalmed. Even Crucifix, who lived in her mind, had no choice but to facepalm.

[You have a long way to go, Master.]

Crucifix drawled, and Meliora bit the bottom of her lips, not knowing what she had done wrong. Lucie, who didn't usually talk, was slowly getting accustomed to her, though she still rarely spoke.

Lucie picked up the plain dress and the apron, while Asharte walked to Meliora. She circled her arms around Meliora's shoulders and dragged her to stand before the old cracked mirror.

Meliora looked at herself and couldn't help but blush. Because Meliora was a gorgeous girl. Right now she might not look like it, but after the scar was gone, every gentleman in the kingdom would swoon over her.

"You are a princess, Your Highness. You should always act with grace and poise so that the other noble ladies will hang their heads low, unable to speak ill of you," Asharte mused with a warm smile spread on her lips.

Meliora felt touched. Even in her past life, no one had ever cared to tell her these words.

"But we are getting late, though." Meliora had no choice but to bite the urgent candy that they had in place for them. Asharte's eyes widened in surprise; she finally realized that they were indeed right.

Going there late would be an insult to the Acrania Empire and might ruin her chances of even participating.

So, Lucie and Asharte ran from place to place to get Meliora ready, and when they finally did, they were amazed while Meliora felt like shit.

Though she expected that they would put a cage under her skirt to make it puffy, the dress without the cage was better. The corset was too tight, but the dress was beautiful—a bright yellow dress that matched the color of Meliora's hair.

A silk transparent veil covered her face, and she was set to go. But Meliora felt itchy and uncomfortable. "Can I not wear this?" She whined in complaint as she hunched her back, only for Asharte to slap her back.

Meliora straightened but whimpered in pain. "This is a significant event, so you can't go about dressing however you like. Besides, you love dressing up," Asharte beamed, but Meliora's face scrunched into a frown as she made a gagging face.

'The previous one, not me.' She scoffed in her mind.

Rylan hired a carriage to take them there since she was the king's daughter. Meliora insisted that they should not hire a fancy one, and after much argument, Rylan finally obeyed her command.

Once she stepped down from the carriage, with Asharte and Lucie at either side of her, the noisy crowd of noble ladies hushed into silence as they turned to look at the person who had arrived.

They were initially getting ready to enter the guild hall where the registration would take place, but since someone of huge importance had arrived, they immediately turned to look.

"Is there something on my face?" Meliora leaned towards Asharte and asked, but the latter squeezed her hands and shook her head.

"No one can see your face through that veil, my Princess," she chuckled. But Meliora wasn't a fan of crowds staring at her for too long.

"Maybe because you look stunning." Someone's thick voice echoed, and soon a man wearing a black shirt and pants stepped forward. He would have settled for commoners' clothes if not for the knight attire he wore.

"Kaid." Meliora rolled her eyes in anger, and the latter chuckled at her reaction.